The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange app seen on the screen of an iPhone.
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The digital currency exchange Coinbase announced on Thursday that it is seeking to go public through a direct listing, bypassing the traditional IPO route.
Founded in 2012, Coinbase has grown to become the largest digital exchange in the United States and is reaching the public market amid renewed investor interest in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is trading above $ 32,000, an increase of more than 260% last year.
Coinbase is jumping on the trend of companies opting for direct listings over IPOs to avoid diluting their existing shareholders and delivering cheap shares to new investors. Spotify was the first significant technology company to follow this path in 2018. Since then, Slack, Palantir and Asana have followed, and the gaming company Roblox hopes to seek a direct list next month.
Coinbase announced its original intention to go public in mid-December.